Makhachev Shares Ambitious Fighting Schedule For 2024

The lightweight champion wants to fight three times in eight months. Will the UFC agree to his schedule and keep him that busy?

UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev is hoping to fight three times in the next year.

Makhachev — whose last fight was a first round headkick knockout of Alexander Volkanovski back in October 2023 — doesn’t have a date for his next fight yet. Complicating things is Ramadan, which runs from March 10th to April 9th. Due to fasting protocols during that month, Makhachev isn’t interested in fighting over that period

So when might we see him defend the 155 pound title again?

“June 8 UFC PPV vs Gaetje,” Makhachev wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “November UFC MSG vs Olivera/Arman, February 2025 vs Anybody Inshallah.”

That sounds good to us, but does it work out for the UFC machine?

June 8th is the UFC’s big International Fight Week pay-per-view, which is when Conor McGregor is reportedly set to fight Michael Chandler. That date may work for Islam, but the UFC might feel like they’ve already got enough firepower at the top of that card. And then November for Madison Square Garden in New York City? That’s right next to the UFC’s annual October card in Abu Dhabi. You better believe the promotion wants Makhachev in the Middle East more than NYC.

While Dana White recently claimed Makhachev was injured, there was no confirmation from his manager Ali Abdelaziz during a new interview with ESPN. Instead, Ali said Islam was getting shuffled around due to UFC scheduling.

“The deal was for Islam to fight March 9,” Abdelaziz said. “Of course, the UFC has a headliner already, Sean O’Malley. They said he’s the main event and it didn’t work out. They said fight in February, but it was too close to his [last] fight. It is what it is, he’s just going to wait for Ramadan, or maybe the UFC will call tomorrow and say O’Malley is out, we need Islam, maybe he can fight March 9.”

“Islam is always training, always in shape, he’s always a professional.”

While it sounds like Makhachev has accepted that he’ll have to wait until mid-year to fight, there’s still a wild card in the mix: the UFC’s debut event in Saudi Arabia on March 2nd. If he really wants to get in a fight before Ramadan, there’s no better date.